Labeling machine



Get. E9, l954 P. A. KETCHPEL 2,6%063 LABELING MACHINE Filed July 7, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l lNvrsN-ronl 03W@ CMRAQ.

@cib 19,l 954 p A KETCHPEL 2,692,063

LABELING MACHINE Filed July 7, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 19, 1954 LABELENG MACHINE Paul A. Ketchpel, West Englewood, N. ll., assigner to Ketchpel Engineering Company, West Engle- Wood, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 7, 1950, Serial No. 172,399

(Cl. 21S-55) 8 Claims.

My invention relates to labelling machines or machines for automatically combining articles together with adhesives which is made tacky by use of a heated roll.

More specincally my invention is an improvement in that type labelling machine which transports a label from a label hopper by a reciprocating transfer head and accurately applies the label on an article at an applying station with predetermined registry. Two such machines on which this invention is an improvement are described and illustrated in Patents 2,227,816 and 2,247,623, both issued to George von Hofe, January 7, 1941, and July l, 1941, respectively.

One of the objects of this invention is to disclose the method and simple mechanism with which these well known liquid cold glue labelling machines of which there are many thousands in service, may be converted to a triple purpose machine; that is one which can apply cold glue or hot glue to uncoated labels, or which can activate the adhesive on labels having a thermoplastic coating and apply either type of label on articles to be labelled, or activate the thermoplastic coating on articles too thick to pass the heat through from a heated transfer head.

It is another object of this invention to provide a machine with a label hopper, a transfer head for carrying a label in perfect register, an article applying station and a heating member over which the article is moved to activate a thermoplastic coating on the underside of said article prior to its application to an object at the article applying station with predetermined precision.

It is a further object to provide a hea-ted member over which the labels with thermoplastic coating on their underside may be moved in accurate applying position to activate the coating just prior to being placed With predetermined register on articles to be labelled.

lt is a further object to provide a cartridge type electric heater mounted within the glue roll of a labelling machine for heating the glue or activating thermoplastic labels.

It is an object to provide heat insulating properties in the construction of bearings for a label heating roll to avoid loss of heat into the frame of a labelling machine.

Another object is to avoid creating high heat on the label which will'cause the paper to stretch Where it is supported over cavities and vacuum holes in the transfer head due to the softened coating permeating the paper and reducing its strength.

l fr) It is an object to provide low heat in a transfer head, such as a thermostatically controlled electrical heater or an uncontrolled one of a capacity too low to activate the adhesive on its coated side, but of suilicient heating capacity to avoid chilling of the heated coating of the label while the transfer head moves the label from the heated member to the label applying station.

It is an object to provide novel mechanism for thermostatioally controlling the temperature in a rotating label heating roll.

These and other objects Will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings and the features of novelty brought out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate examples of the invention without dening its limits, Figure l is a sid-e elevation of this particular type labelling machine referred to above, with parts in section showing the novel arrangement of this invention applied thereto; Figure 2 is a front elevation of the machine with parts in section; Figure 3 is an enlarged end elevation of part of the mechanism shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 3 with parts in section; Figure 5 is a sectional view in elevation on line 5 5 on Figure 2 with some parts removed; Figure -6 is a fragmentary plan View of the transfer head, illustrated in Figure 2; Figure 7 is a wiring diagram; Figure 8 is a View of modified form of transfer head.

For the purpose of simplification, the term label is used throughout the description but it should be understood that the machine may be used for other purposes to assemble two pieces together; such as, attaching thermoplastically coated rubber heels to rubber shoe soles.

The novel labelling machine in the form herein illustrated, consists of a frame I0 on which an upright hopper H is supported in any suitable manner at what may be termed the pick up station of the machine. The hopper is designed to contain a supply of labels l2 arranged therein in the form of a stack resting upon the bottom i3 of said hopper H as shown in Figure l; conventional elevating means i4 is included in the machine for raising the bottom of the hopper to maintain the top of said stack of labels I2 ata substantially feeding level.

A. conventional transfer head I5 as shown in Figures 1 and v2 comprises a suction head or a mouthpiece carrier IS, a mouthpiece Il and a carriage i8 equipped with close tting guides it for reciprocating movement on a track 2e bolted to the frame i0, by conventional mechanismZi,

3 which also moves the suction head II into and out of the hopper II and to and from the work table 2 on V-ways 22 engaging a complementary track 22a, on the carriage I8.

The mouthpiece is provided with auction holes 23 which communicate with a vacuum chamber 24 in the mouthpiece carrier I6. The vacuum chamber 2e is connected to a source of vacuum 25, through a port 2E.

At one eXtreme end or the track 29 the transfer head i is located in the pick up station and is positioned over the label hopper I I. At the other extreme end of the track 253 the transfer head I5 is located in a label applying station and is positioned over the conventional work table or bottle support 2l which is bolted to the front wall of the machine frame I6. The conventional machine has a pressure pad 4B moved by suitable mechanism to descend upon the label, after the mouthpiece has retracted from over the bottle support, and give it a squeeze under high pressure.

Between the pick up station and label applying station, a glue roll 28, rotatably mounted in bearing 22 in the frame Ill, a lower glue roll 3B is mounted in bearings 3l in the fulcrum levers 32 which are pivotally mounted on pivot pins 33 pressed into each side of the frame I. A spring 34 engages the lower end 35 of the fulcrum lever 32 causing the lower glue roll 3Q to move towards the upper glue roll 28. Screws 35 supported by the frame Ie press against the other end 3l of the fulcrum lever 32 for adjusting the clearance between the two glue rolls.

The lower roll 3Q dips into a glue pot 38 which is supported by the member 39 in any suitable manner to raise or lower it.

Conventional pick oils 43, shown and described in Patent 2,227,816, are assembled together on bar 43a and mounted on a cross member Ic of the frame Iii and extend into grooves 44 machined in the glue roll 28. They prevent the label from being pulled from the transfer head by the tacklness' of the glue roll. To avoid having these grooves 44 place an over abundance of glue on the label glue roll rings 45 are bodily mounted around the lower glue roll and engage the grooves 44 and prohibit them vfrom loading up with glue.

It should be noted that the glue roll 28 is so positioned that its periphery is directly in the path of the mouthpiece Il as it moves to the label applying station. A label carried on the under side of the mouthpiece engages the glue roll tangentially and since the glue roll 28 is rotated by the sprocket 45 and other suitable mechanism not shown to give it the same speed as the mouthpiece II a coating of adhesive is transferred to the label as it is moved across the glue roll 28. On the return stroke the mouthpiece I'I passes over the glue roll with clearance to avoid smearing Yits face.

The lower glue roll is rotated by a pinion 45 on the glue roll 28 engaging a gear 41 arranged on the lower glue roll shaft. A scraper member 5G is also usually used in this type of machine to prevent accumulation of glue on the glue roll shafts. A series of saw cuts is provided in the inside rib which extends across on the forward side of the glue roll. These act as guides for the rings on the lower glue roll 3l) and will be referred to later.

It is characteristic of this type machine now in service to have one-revolution clutch to stop the machine. Nearing the end of the cycle the mouthpiece I'l returns to the pick up station, moves down into the label hopper I I and picks up a label I2, rises to its position of horizontal travel and cornes to rest with the label il on the mouthpiece i1.

When the foot treadle is pressed to start another cycle the mouthpiece Il transports the label across the glue roll 23 to receive a nlm of adhesive, moves on to the extreme other end oi the track 29 or label applying station, and movesdown to deposit the label on a bottle resting on the bottle support 3l. It immediately rises and returns to the label hopper and picks up a label, rises a short distance and stops.

rhis ends the description of the conventional machine which uses cold glue. The method and apparatus required to convert it for using thermoplastic coated labels will now be described.

l am well aware of a new thermoplastic labelling machine which is being put out by the same manufacturer of the machine formerly described. Also that they also sell a conversion unit for those machines in the held. However, my invention resides in the novel arrangement of making a few changes and equipping the machine with a novel label heating mechanism that is so compact that it nts into the conventional machine with littie change or rearrangement and provides many advantages and overcomes many of the disadvantages of other types of machines or conversion units. Such advantages will now become apparent from the following description.

Referring now to Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 in providing a simple machine for automatically labelling articles with thermoplastically coated labels in a predetermined, precise and accurate manner, I drill a hole ill? in the glue roll 23 and mount an electrical cartridge heater 6i therein for supplying heat directly to the label heating roll 2S. I have built such machines by suspending such a stationary heating unit iii, in an oversize hole ed, on a long tube supported by a bracket bolted to the left side of the frame and produced very satisfactory results. However, I prefer the construction shown in the present case where the vheater 6l is mounted in a closer itting hole Se in the label heating roll 2 8 and rotates with it.

Steel sleeves 62 may be pressed on the roll 23, which is usually made of bronze, to rotate in ordinary bronze bearings 63 by using high temperature lubricating grease, resulting in some heat passing into the machine frame I5). I prefer to use bushings 29, made of Johns-Manville Eel Slip asbestos bearing material, to prohibit the heat from transmitting into the frame Ill. They resist high temperatures and provide excellent bearing and insulating properties.

rlhe lead lines Ii on the heater el extend outward and are connected to collector rings 64 mounted on the end of the roll 28. Carbon brushes 65 advanced by springs 65 and mounted in a Formica brush holder 51 permits the current from power lines 56 to be circulated to the rotating heater 6I. The brush holder 6l is mounted on top of an electrical control box 68 which is fastened to the side of the frame IE! by bolts 65 and 1li. An ordinary electrical switch 'i5 is mounted in an opening 'i6 .in the front wall Il of the control box E8. It is provided with a switch button 'I8 and red danger light 'i9 to indicate the current is on and the machine parts will be hot to avoid accidental burns.

.A heater circuit extends from the switch 15 to the heater y6I through the brushes 65 to heat the roll 28. A heater thermostat .SI is connected in this .circuit to control the tempera-n ture of the label heating member 28 within very close limits. It is mounted in a thermostat housing 82 which is pivotally mounted on pin 83 in the control box 58. As best shown in Figure 5 the thermostat housing 82 is machined to conform with the reduced end of the heating member 28 and a spring 34 holds the housing 82 in contact with the heating member 28 and the temperature of the roll is transmitted to the thermostat 8i which in turn maintains a uniform temperature in the heating member 28. The thermostat housing 32 is made of a composition to provide high heat transfer properties and stand the rotating friction of the heating roll 28 with little abrasion.

Since there is danger of using the machine befor the heating roll is hot enough to give good permanent labelling, or, after it becomes too cold in event the heater 6| has burned out and the heating member 2 is cooling 01T the control boX (i8 is equipped with an alarm circuit 85 which includes a transformer 86, a buzzer Ell and a buzzer thermostat Sil. The thermostat 88 is likewise mounted in the thermostat housing 82. The buzzer sounds a low muilled signal any time when the temperature of the heating member 28 is too low for satisfactory labelling.

There are certain type liquid adhesives which become more tacky when subject to heat. Thus it should be apparent that when machines built for cold glue are equipped with this heating apparatus they become more versatile to handle labelling problems requiring the type glue that is better applied with a heated glue roll.

Now when it is desired to run thermoplastic labels in the machine use of pick-ois t3, the glue scraper 5t and the glue pot 38 is not required and they can be removed and the lower glue roll 3G dropped to disengage the rings l5 from the grooves fill in the heating roll 28 by screws 3S. This will likewise disengage the gears i[l5 and t?. While this is not necessary it will save wear on these parts from running together under a hot dry condition.

It is only necessary now to turn on switch l and as soon as the buzzer cuts oiT, labelling with thermoplastic labels can begin. No other changes are required and it is just as simple to change back again to run uncoated labels with cold glue. Care mustI be taken when raising the lower glue roll Bil to see that the glue roll rings engage the groove in the upper glue roll 28 to avoid injury to same.

Otherwise, thermoplastic labels are loaded in the same hopper, picked up as before with the same mouthpiece which stands over the hopper in readiness for the next clutch operation on a relatively cold mouthpiece any length of time without danger of scorching the label. This is a chief advantage over the type machine employing a heated mouthpiece which will Scorch the label under this same condition. I am aware that new machines might have their cams so designed to cause the mouthpiece to stop some other place remote from said hopper but to provide such cams for the machines in service would involve terrific expense. And even some labelling machines have their dwell at the end of ea'ch cycle with the hot mouthpiece positioned directly over` the label stack, just ready to move down into the hopper to pick up a label at the beginning of a cycle have their disadvantages. The heated mouthpiece often causes the labels to heat up and block together for a depth of 1/4 inch on the stack when the machine stands idle temporarily. The present invention avoids this problem entirely.

Another disadvantage with heated mouthpieces results from the heat causing the ink at the face of the label to bleed. Much more heat is required on the printed side of the label because suicient heat must be forced through the label stack to melt the plastic coating on the opposite side.

This high heat on the label produces pock marks on the label. That area of the label over each suction hole is not subject to the same heat and is naturally different. Ofttimes the heat softens the label permitting the vacuum to pull on the label overlaying each vacuum hole and this results in a pimple like appearance on the label at these spots.

All these disadvantages are avoided by the present invention. As the transfer head I5 moves forward from the label hopper il, the printed side of the label I2 is held against the relatively cold face of the mouthpiece Il while the side which is coated with a thermoplastic adhesive will be below and make tangential coni tact with the heated member 28 which will soften the adhesive just prior to its application on an article in the label applying station. Thus the heat is applied directly to the coating on the label. 'Ihis means that a lower temperature can be used and in many respects is a more ecient practice. Very little of the coating will come oi the label on to the heating roll 28, as there seems to be little more if any more after running 500 labels than the first three. Anyway there is no need to remove it until the labelling operation is to be interrupted and it is best removed by holding a clean dry cloth against the heating roll 28 while it is hot.

I have found that the thermoplastic coating on the label can be chilled again about as quickly as it can be activated if the temperature of the mouthpiece il and transfer head l5 are below a certain temperature range. This particularly is true when rst starting the labelling operation before they have had any opportunity to pick up any heat from the heating roll 28. Furthermore. the air being sucked through the vacuum holes tends further to cool these parts. This may be avoided by providing some means to produce a mild temperature in these parts which will be considerably below the degree required to activate the thermoplastic coating but warm enough to avoid chilling of the activated coating while the mouthpiece Il travels from the heating roll 12S to the article applying station and applies it on the object to be labelled.

This can be accomplished in a number of ways. A third circuit Se may be connected to the control box 68 and extend to some flat n type low capacity heaters l l located in 'the vacuum chamber 2li but not of high enough temperature to activate the thermoplastic coating. Or, by still other heat producing means may be used for this purpose, such as, by use of chemicals like carbide and water or other chemicals placed in a separate compartment 95, provided in a modified transfer head l5 and shown in Figure 8 in which a screw cap 96 and gasket Sl seals the opening in the compartment Q5 after the chemicals are placed inside. Some such means would maintain the little temperature required in the mouthpiece i1 for a period of 5 to 6 hours. This temperature will not be great enough to burn an operators nngers which now happens with machines employing mouthpieces with temperatures high .enough to activate :the coating. The operatorie ngers never come anywhere near `the heating roll :2:3 used fin the Vpresent iinyention.

Olne other advantage that results from applying the heatfto the label from some source remote from the mouthpiece, is -that it permits the mouthpiece to be made smaller than the label hopper because the heating roll will heat the coating all the way out to the edge. lr the heat is supplied from the suction head Yit must extend out very lclose to the edge to impart enough heat through the label steckte heat the thermoplastic coating at the very edge .of Vthe label. Maintaining this extra clearance which is used in allglue type :Illahl 0f 'this Style., LES SIP- S the tefldely of :the labels .to stick together, .often resulting in a second label being taken from the hopper which comes loose -whenitgoes over the lglue or heating roll 1,8 and requires the machine to be Stopped and the Strate-eline label t0 be removed- 'It Should new be apparent from the foregoing .that I have provided new and useful improvements in labelling machines which afiord many advantages in a Hot-Or-Wet labelling machine. I .do not Vlimit the use of my invention to the conventional labelling machines referred to herein. But what claim to be new and Yuseful in various machines is the combination of mechanism which picks up a label at a pick up station with accurate registry, subjects the adhesive side of the label to a heater roll while being transferred to a label applying station where it de- .posits it .on an article to :be labelled with predetermined registry.

I claim:

1. In combination in a labeling machine, a label transfer mechanism for transferring labels from a label supply station, each label having a thermoplastic :coating capable of activation in the presence of heat, said mechanism including 4a suction head capable of reciprocated -travel `between said stations, Isaid head being adapted to remove a label from said pick up station, the coated side of said label :being remote from the pick np surface of said head, and adapted to ,apply sai-d label to an article at said application station; and a heated rotating member interposed lbetween said stations in the label transfer path to make tangential contact with the coated side of said label and activate the same, said member rotating in timed relation with the speed of said head as said head travels toward said application station.

2. In ,combination in a labeling machine, a label transfer mechanism for transferring labels from a label supply station to a label application station, each label having a thermoplastic coating capable of activation in the presence of heat, said mechanism including a suction head capable of reciprocated travel between said stations, said head being adapted to remove a label from said pick up station, the .coated side of said Ylabel being remote from the pick up surface of said head, and adapted to apply said label to an article at said application station; and a yheated rotating member interposed between said stations in the label transfer path to make tangential contact with the coated side of said label and activate same, said member rotating in a timed relation `with the speed of said head as said head is moved toward said application station at which the en- -tire coated area .of said 'label is uniformly heated and activated.

3. In combination in a labeling machine, a label transfer mechanism for transferring labels path to make tangential contact with the coa-ted side .of said label to activate the saine, said member rotating in timed ,relation with :the speed of said head as said head travels .toward said application station said hea-d having an operating temperature at which the activated 'coating .of said label is cooled to Va state Vof A,tacliiness as said label is transferred between said II llcrllber and said application station.

e. In combination in a labelling machine, ia label transfer mechanism for transferring labels from a label hopper to a label application station, each label having a thermoplastiocoating.capable of activation inthe presence of heat, said mechanism including a suction head capable of reciprocated travel between said stations, said head being adapted to remove a label from said hopper, the .coated side of said label being remote from the pick up surface of said head, and adapted vto apply said label to an article at said application station; a rotating hollow heating roll interposed between said stations in the label transfer path to make tangential contact with the coated side of said label and activate same, said roll rotating in timed relation with the speed of said head as said head travels toward said application station; and a heating cartridge axially mounted within said hollow roll and arranged to rotate therewith.

.5. The combination as set forth in claim .4 further including insulated collector rings mounted at one end of the heating rol-l and connected to the heating cartridge.

6. The combination as set for-th in claim 5 f urther including means to supply electrical energy through said collector vrings to vsaid cartridge and a thermostat element in functional Contact -with the outer surface of said heating roll and coupled to said means to control the temperature .of said outer surface by controlling the rate at which said means supplies energy `to said cartridge.

7. In combination in a labeling machine, a label transfer mechanism lfor transferring labels from the top of a hopper to a label application l' station, each label having a thermoplastic coating Capable of Aactivation in the presence of heat, said mechanism including a suction head capable of ,reciprocated travel between said stations, said head being `adapted to remove a label from the top of said hopper, the coated side of said label being remote from the pick up surface of said head, and adapted to apply said label to an article ,at said application station, the area of said pick up surface being sufficiently smaller than .the areaof the top of said hopper to provide sumcient clearance therebetween; and a heated rotating member interposed between said stations in the label transfer te make tangential contact with the coated side of said label and activate same, said member rotating in timed relation with the speed of said head as said rhead is reciprocated between said stations at which adjacent sections of said coated side are consecutively brought into said tangential contact and the entire coated surface yis uniformly heated and activated.

8. In combination in a labeling machine, a label transfer mechanism for transferring labels from the top of a label hopper to a label application station, each label having a thermoplastic coating capable of activation in the presence of heat, said mechanism including a suction head capable of reciprocated travel between said stations, said head being adapted to remove a label from the top of said hopper, the coated side of said label being remote from the pick up surface of said head and adapted to apply said label to an article at said application station, the area of said pick up surface being suiciently smaller than the area of said hopper to provide suiiicient clearance therebetween, and a thermostatically controlled heated rotating member interposed between said station in the label transfer to make tangential contact with the coated side of said label and activate the same, said member rotating in timed relation with the speed of said head as said head is reciprocated between said stations at which the adjacent sections of said coated side are consecutively brought into said tangential contact and the entire coated surface is uniformly heated and activated and a thermostatically controlled heating element mounted Within said head to maintain said head at an operating temperature at which the activated coating of said label is cooled to a state of tackiness and is maintained at said state as said label is transferred between said member and said application station.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSy Number Name Date 1,449,856 Wescott Jan. 2, 1923 1,804,392 Alger May 12, 1931 1,985,839 Rutkoskie Dec. 25, 1934 2,279,724 Von Hofe Apr. 14, 1942 2,344,185 Tuthill Mar. 14, 1944 2,380,322 Marquardt July l0, 1945 2,449,298 Hoppe Sept. 14, 1948 2,613,007 Von Hofe Oct. 7, 1952 2,635,776 Cook et al Apr. 2l, 1953 

